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Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I buy the 3G iPad?

by Erica Sadun Feb 19th 2010 at 6:30PM

Dear Auntie T,

I was hoping you could help me decide something since I think many people will be trying to figure out the same thing. Namely, is the 3G on the iPad worth it for my purposes?

I live in NYC, which has lots of available Wi-Fi. I have a laptop and I also have a Sprint mobile broadband for those rare occasions when I can't pick up Wi-Fi somewhere. I noticed in the last few months that I haven't used it at all. The places I use my laptop (library, cafes, graduate school classes) all have Wi-Fi. These are the same types of places I'm planning on using my iPad (with one exception: Beth Israel hospital doesn't have Wi-Fi, although I've yet to need my computer there)

Is the 3G price tag, coupled with the AT&T price tag, worth it? Should I get the Wi-Fi only version now and wait for the price drop and hardware bump sure to come in version two?

I would greatly appreciate your opinions on the matter. I've read your blog for years and highly respect the articles and advice you produce.

Love,

Your niece Trish


Dear Trish,

A lot of people have spent a good deal of time guessing about the mythical and yet unannounced version 2 of the iPad. Will it have a camera? Will it have more storage? Will it cost less? Is it worth buying? Those are all the wrong questions in Auntie's opinion. The right question is this one: "Are you an early adopter?"

If you're an adopteraholic, the only thing you have to ask yourself is "3G or Wi-Fi-only" because the difference between "March" (most likely April 2nd) and "April" is just a few weeks. And the $130 answer is, in my opinion, buy both.

Wait, that wasn't the right answer. That just slipped out.

The actual answer is, wait if you can bear it. Ask yourself: how extreme an adoptaholic are you? Because I am, seriously, buying both. (See? That slipped out again.) As a tech writer, I need to acquire the first hardware I can get my hands on -- and I'll be doing that -- but as a customer, there is only one iPad out there: the iPad 3G.

That decision stems from two needs: data and GPS.

The 3G gives you the option of using AT&T's prepaid $15 or $30/month service if and when you want to use it with no obligation to do so. Data is there if and when you need it -- and most people will eventually need it. That's because many people do things like travel in cars, commute on trains, fly out of airports (many of which still don't have free Wi-Fi), visit doctors and DMVs and auto mechanics, and so forth.

Being able to opt into data at the drop of a hat is, in itself, worth a price boost. Is that option worth $130 to you, not to mention the extra monthly costs of actually using data? Maybe, maybe not, but it certainly is to me. That's because the iPhone has completely trained me to be its data slave. I love the ability to hook myself into the vast windy intertubes, no matter where I am.

The other reason that $130 is worth the cost is GPS. I have become a complete and utter GPS addict in the past few months, ever since I got my 3GS. Wi-Fi location is nice, sweet, and occasionally useful but real, unfettered GPS is awesome. I'm a big walker and I find that GPS + walking + apps like Yelp are insanely wonderful.

Is Apple gouging you with the $130 upgrade? Er, probably yes. Is it worth just making do with Wi-Fi? That's the question you have to ask yourself. Me? I'm getting the 3G iPad.

Love & hugs,

Aunt TUAW

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Dear Auntie T, I was hoping you could help me decide something since I think many people will be trying to figure out the same thing....
 

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ipadboy

Here is the worth 250MB data
http://buzzintechnology.com/2010/04/what-can-you-do-with-ipad-3gs-250mb-data-plan/

April 23 2010 at 7:28 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JXL

O.K. let's say you hold on for the 3G version,how about what size ?
I have a ton of music on iTunes but shouldn't I be able to get to it via WiFi from my Mac instead of loading onto the iPad ?
I would think if you're going to get as many features out of it then the 16 GB one is skimpy...but if $$$ is an issue then could you get away with it.

February 23 2010 at 12:05 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John Federico

I'm definitely going to get the 3G iPad but since I already have a Verizon USB dongle that I use with my MacBook and my netbook (which will be replaced by the iPad) I'd rather not pay for still more 3G connectivity.

I'm going to buy a ConnectOne Wi-Reach 3G (who names these things?) and use my existing 3G contract to power my iPad via WiFi.

Complicated? Maybe. But I always have the option of signing up for AT&T service if it gets to be a pain.

-jf.
---
John Federico
http://magicaltablet.com

February 23 2010 at 8:17 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
icruise

When I think about the situations when I wouldn't have wi-fi access, almost none of them are conducive to iPad use. I don't travel much, and I'm certainly not going to be whipping out an iPad to read an email or quickly check a web site when walking around town. That's what my iPhone is for. If I do get an iPad, it'll be mostly used around the house, so wi-fi is fine.

February 21 2010 at 10:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob

While I have not decided to buy an iPad yet, I would get the 3G model due to the addition of GPS. GPS will be worth the extra money.

I would think a lot about turning on the AT&T 3G service. Two alternatives would be to use the WIFI tethering on a phone (when did AT&T say this was going to be supported on the iPhone, is this "bait and switch"?) or getting one those standalone CDMA Access Points like the Verizon MiFi. The advantage of that would be that it would work with my laptop, iPhone, and the iPad all at the same time.

February 20 2010 at 11:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris

I've been debating which to buy. I want to be the first kid on the block with an iPad, as I've been with each of my three iPhones, but the 3G option is so tempting. Thankfully, now that the slingplayer mobie app works over 3G, the decision has been made for me. I'm getting the 3G iPad. Having access to one of my DVRs, and being able to watch TV from anywhere, is going to be awesome. And sling looks great over 3G on the iPhone. I expect it will be a little choppier on the bigger screen, but it shouldn't degrade too much. I can't wait for April.

The bigger question for me, now, is which size to get. With my 32GB iPhone 3GS, how much memory do I need on a second device? I don't anticipate using it as a music player. I've got the iPhone and a 32GB nano for that. I'll use it for movies, apps and watching sling. But, they make the larger version's price points so tempting ... when it comes time to buy, I'll probably convince myself that the little bit of extra cash is worth the capacity. We'll see.

February 20 2010 at 2:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
John Hamilton Farr

I live in northern New Mexico with wilderness available just a few miles outside of town. We hike and walk everywhere, assuming the MUD isn't so bad. I've never used an iPhone or a GPS device of any kind.

What I'm wondering is, just why do people have those things? Seriously. Is it just a game? I take hikes in the backcountry with a compass and a topo map, just like in the old days with the Boy Scouts. :-) I can look at a hillside and point to where it is on the map. I almost always know where I am. So what is it about living in a city, forgodssakes, that makes one addicted to GPS??? Aren't there street signs? If you didn't have GPS, would you just sit down on the curb and have a nervous breakdown?!?

February 20 2010 at 1:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to John Hamilton Farr's comment
Steven Sande

Hi, John! Good to see a comment from you on TUAW. John Martellaro over at The Mac Observer wanted me to call you when I was in Taos last summer. I demurred, since I don't like to impose on people I haven't met.

I did want to make a counterpoint to your assertion that everyone who uses GPS or a cell phone is a technology-addicted whiner. Although you and I learned at an early age to read a topo map and use a compass, that's not something that everybody does these days. Using these devices is a nod to convenience and safety; that's why most of us, even those in the suburbs of Taos, have indoor toilets instead of outhouses. :-) Even you are making a concession to technology by becoming an "Internet columnist and editor," something you'd never be able to do without good old DSL or cable modem service and a computer.

Sure, the techno-toys can be a crutch. Every summer, we hear about a bunch of city slickers who get lost in the hills when the batteries in their GPS units die. But we never hear about the vast majority of GPS users who have used the devices successfully to keep from getting lost.

For some of us a cell phone and GPS *is* a game -- it's called geocaching (http://www.geocaching.com), and it really helps to have a GPS-enabled smartphone to pull up maps and hints while we're out enjoying our hobby.

Anyway, thanks for reading, John -- and keep posting those great pictures you've taken with your DIGITAL camera out there on fotofeed.com!

Steve Sande
Editor
The Unofficial Apple Weblog

February 20 2010 at 6:08 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Herchu

@Robert @skooler Yes, tethering is available and not against TOS here in Europe. Regrettably, there's no proof yet that the iPad can tether through an iPhone via cable or bluetooth.

There's another possibility that I haven't seen mentioned before. We can ask the operator to issue a twin SIM card. It wouldn't let you call while your surf with the iPad but no extra plan is needed.

February 20 2010 at 12:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Byran

3G? That's silly if you have a cellphone that can act as a router. The winning combination for the iPad is a regular iPad with your cellphone—and you get the added bonus of using WiMax/LTE when it comes down the pipe, as well. BTW, all iPad's have GPS.

February 20 2010 at 12:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
David Yakir

I have a mifi on the verizon network. I have an iphone on the ATT network, but my travels to NY limit its use. I will buy the wifi version of the Ipad and use the mifi on the verizon network.

February 20 2010 at 12:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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